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The Joint Action Committee on Incidents of Torture at Immigration Detention Centers stages a demonstration admonishing and calling for the repeal of recent changes to regulations for immigration detention on June 20 outside the presidential office in Yongsan. (Kim Jung-hyo/The Hankyoreh)

While Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon had previously ordered a review of a regulation allowing the use of inhumane restraints at immigration detention centers, a new amendment proposed by his ministry shows that it continues to push for the use of physical restraint devices, introducing three new binding gears that enable the restriction of all four limbs.

According to the Partial Amendment to the Rule on Immigrant Protection that Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Tahney received from the Ministry of Justice on Thursday, two restraints using belts to bind the upper and lower body and a vest-like restraint have been added to the list of protective devices to be introduced for use. These devices allow the user to handcuff a person after binding their upper body with a belt or to bind their legs.

In September last year, the Ministry of Justice acknowledged the existence of a problem after it was revealed that a foreigner being held in isolation at the Hwaseong Immigration Detention Center was cruelly hog-tied, with his hands and feet bound behind his back.

Nevertheless, the ministry announced plans in May to pass a revision to immigration detention rules introducing ankle restraints (two-ankle and one-ankle cuffs) and chair restraints that can bind a person’s limbs, in addition to handcuffs, binding gear, and protective head equipment that are stipulated in the Immigration Act.

After coming under fire from civil society, which likened the new rules to the “legalization of torture,” the justice minister in July ordered that the protective ankle equipment and protective chairs be excluded from the list of gear to be introduced.

It has now been revealed, however, that the Ministry of Justice added three types of restraints that allow for the simultaneous binding of the upper and lower body to substitute the two types of equipment that have been removed from the list.

According to the explanation given by the Ministry of Justice to the office of National Assembly member Lee Tahney, “Ankle protective equipment and protective chairs, about which human rights violations concerns were raised, were not included in the immigration detention rule.”

“Restraint gear, which was included in the original list, has been specified as the belt-type and the vest-type.”

Diagrams of three types of restraints added to the Ministry of Justice’s regulations for immigration detention. (courtesy of the Office of Rep. Lee Tahney)

The new amendment has been criticized as an irresponsible measure incapable of preventing cruel treatment such as the hog-tying of a detainee that occurred at the Hwaseong Immigration Detention Center last year.

The amendment allows for the usage of more than one protective device at a time, technically enabling the restriction of all four limbs using the belt restraints and handcuffs.

“There are no special requirements stipulated for when and how long multiple forms of detention gear can be used simultaneously,” said Lee Han-jae, an attorney with the Korean law firm Duroo who represented a Moroccan who underwent brutal treatment, including hog-tying, at the Hwaseong Immigration Detention Center. “This equipment regulation seems more dangerous and insufficient than regulations applied in prisons.”

In fact, the Enforcement Rule of the Act on the Administration and Treatment of Correctional Institution Inmates entails several regulations for the usage of restraints, including provisions limiting the use of protective chairs — which have sparked the most concerns over human rights violations — to no more than eight hours, with a mandate that a person not be restrained in the device within four hours of previously being restrained in it.

By contrast, this latest amendment introducing the new restraints does not outline specific procedures other than how to use the devices. Lee Han-jae pointed out, “It is questionable how much effort the Ministry of Justice has made to minimize physical conflict through such measures as providing appropriate notices outlining the reason for detention at an immigration detention facility, interpretation, and expanding medical facilities.”

“Ever since the minister took office, the Ministry of Justice has emphasized the promotion of human rights policies that meet international standards,” said Lee Tanhey, the lawmaker. “It is important that the ministry makes good on its promises.”

In response, a Ministry of Justice official said, “We have introduced new vest and belt restraint gear, which impose less on fundamental rights, because the original restraint gear that uses ropes to bind ankles and wrists could appear off-putting. When the Ministry of Government Legislation's review of the amendment is completed, the Ministry of Justice will define and implement detailed methods of equipment operation through an enforcement regulation.”

“The Ministry of Justice is currently trying to move forward to become even more human rights-friendly by implementing such measures as opening up immigration detention facilities,” they went on to say.

By Jang Ye-ji, staff reporter

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